Following its recent launch, Babson College’s Women Innovating Now (WIN) Lab Miami, a venture accelerator specifically for women entrepreneurs, is pleased to announce a new collaboration with CIC Miami – the newest expansion out of what was originally known as the Cambridge Innovation Center in Massachusetts. All WIN Lab Miami entrepreneurs, also known as WINners, will work out of CIC Miami’s brand new space on the third floor at 1951 NW 7th Avenue.
The WIN Lab also looks forward to programming with The LAB Miami, an innovation space in Wynwood, to offer a series of upcoming events targeting the local ecosystem.
Babson’s WIN Lab is a first-of-its-kind program designed to help women entrepreneurs launch successful businesses. The program connects participants to a wide range of experts, networks, and co-working space, further enabling them to build on their ideas and expand their ventures.
WIN Lab Miami has been made possible by a generous grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.Akerman Law is a sponsor of this year’s programming.
CIC is the oldest and largest convener of startup activity in The United States, with a mission to create powerful innovation communities for exceptional entrepreneurs tackling the world’s largest questions. It does so by combining physical office space, partnerships, events, and other programming initiatives with the goal of convening individuals, companies, and cross-sector initiatives alike. CIC Miami is the fourth expansion site for CIC, following Cambridge/Boston, St. Louis, and Rotterdam, and is looking to connect the city’s best entrepreneurs, investors, and educational institutions to innovation activity across the hemisphere. Babson’s WIN Lab Miami is the first accelerator to join CIC in its new space, and to collaborate with CIC’s nonprofit partner organization Venture Café Miami.
“Both Babson and CIC have a robust track record of engendering entrepreneurship ecosystems, as well as a focus on making sure those communities are inclusive,” said CIC Miami General Manager Natalia Martinez-Kalinina. “It is therefore a natural fit to support each other’s vision and expansion. Aside from the Bay Area, Boston is the main domestic hub driving innovation, so it is exciting for two tried-and-tested Boston institutions to bring their initiatives to Miami, hand-in-hand. It stands as further proof that Miami is the next emerging innovation market.”
Nelly Farra, Director of Babson College’s WIN Lab Miami, comments, “Our collaboration with CIC Miami is an important ingredient in our entrepreneurs’ success. At WIN Lab, we stress the importance of creating startup ecosystems to support growing ventures. This same belief in the power of community to grow businesses is woven into the fabric of CIC. Together, I’m confident we’re going to advance Miami’s next wave of high-growth, women-led companies.”
